Port Ainé, stage ending in Volta a Catalunya 2020

Elevation profile for Port Ainé

It has been unveiled the route of Volta a Catalunya professional cycling race for 2020.

It is a very special edition as it is the 100th edition of the oldest cycling race in Spain.
3/23 Calella-Calella
3/24 TT Banyoles (Girona)
3/25 Canal Olimpic-Vallter 2000
3/26 Ripoll-Port Ainé
3/27 La Pobla de Segur-Manresa
3/28 Tarragona-Mataró
3/29 Barcelona-Barcelona

There will be 2 mountain stage endings. First one will be in Vallter 2000 (a classic finish, included several times in Volta a Catalunya route), and the second one is at Port Ainé.

Port Ainé has been included three times in the route of Volta a Catalunya. But only twice the race arrived to the top of the climb... How can that be? In 2012 the route included the climbs to Port del Cantó and Port Ainé as stage ending. Nevertheless, the weather was extremely cold with snow vat the mountains and the climb to Port Ainé was cancelled (Stage winner Brajkovič described the stage and its conditions as the "hardest day of his life"). See details here.

The second time that the Volta arrived to Port Ainé was in 2016 edition, and the winner was Thomas de Gendt.See whole stage video here:

 

And the third time was in 2013 edition with Dan Martin winning at the top of the climb.

The climb itself is a long climb in the Pyrenees, and the bottom is located very close to a village called Rialp. The elevation profile showed in the article is a little shorter than it is nowadays, as the road gets to 2000 mts.

A true monster climb with almost 20 km of climbing, with over 6% average gradient!
Here we have the Strava segment for the climb:

The best family bike tours in Catalonia

Family vacation, lot of fun!

When planning a cycling vacation for the family things are a bit different than planning a trip with friends, aren't they?

In Catalonia we have several options if we would like to do a family cycling trip, but the most appealing is the so known Ruta del Carrilet. This route, 97 km long, follows a former train line from Olot to Sant Feliu de Guixols.

Gravel paths in Ruta del Carrilet

This route, mainly graveled, but also asphalted for some parts, is a great and safe way to discover the best cycling paths around. On top of that, the very famous Girona is half way, then it is very easy to put together a trip in 2 stages sleeping in Girona half way.

This trip, going from Olot to Sant Feliu de Guixols, slightly downhill, is very easy, perfect for beginners or small children. On the other way, from the coastal Sant Feliu de Guixols to Olot, in the vulcanic region of La Garrotxa, is slightly uphill, a bit more difficult but also doable in 1-2 stages.

Also very interesting the fact that the former train stations have been converted into hotels and restaurants. This way, we have plenty of nice options to rest for a while and have lunch just aside of the path.

Mont Caro, a killer climb in southern Catalonia

The sun is always shining at Mont Caro (Picture by @rosdemora)

Mont Caro is one of those long and steep climbs that you should do once in your life. The sunny, and often windy, southern Catalonia offers you this killer climb, with amazing views from the top. Reaching just 1013 mts height, but including some passages over 12 and 13%. A real challenge for mountain lovers.

Spectacular view of the switchbacks (Picture by @rosdemora)

Mont Caro has been stage ending in Volta a Catalonia years 1985 (victory for the colombian Alirio Chizabas), 1991 (stage win for the also colombian Lucho Herrera), and 2017 (winner Alejandro Valverde). This is not a pass between valleys, but a road leading to a radio/tv antena, then it has to be stage ending.

The numbers, the gradients, the steepness

Last part of the climb in not very good shape! Picture by @rosdemora